Zippers And Velcros: Life Without Them!
When we think of science and technology, we imagine space discoveries, medical breakthroughs and innovative products. Sometimes, innovations come in small packages that we almost miss. Here's one -- the automatic, continuous clothing closure, as it was originally called. What is it you ask? Well, every pant, sweatshirt and jacket has it. Backpacks, and even shoes these days have it.
We are talking about the zipper. Last week, Google honored the birthday of the man who perfected the zipper design and brought it to the world.
Gideon Sundbach
The idea of a zipper had been around since the mid 1850s. Elias Howe, the inventor of the sewing machine (have you seen one?) was the first to propose a button-less closure. At the end of the 19th century, Whitcomb Judson, a successful inventor, set out to create a replacement for the lengthy shoelaces which were used in both men's and women's boots. He called it the 'clasp-locker' and displayed it at the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago. The design was rather clumpsy and often came apart. The public could see no use for this newfangled technology!
Only in 1913, after a Swedish-American engineer, Gideon Sundbach remodeled Judson's fastener to add more teeth and make it sturdy, was the zipper a success. The US Army applied zippers to the clothing and gear of the troops during World War I. By 1930s, zippers could be found in all kinds of clothing and footwear, and had even been embraced by the fashion industry. Today, more than 90 percent of the world's zippers are made by one Japanese company YKK, which has over 200 factories around the world!
Velcro: Lessons from nature!
On a lovely summer day in 1948, a Swiss inventor and his dog were out for a walk. They both returned home covered with burrs -- the plant seeds that cling to animal fur. Curiosity led George de Mestral to examine the burrs with a microscope. He saw all the small hooks that enabled the seed-bearing burr to cling so viciously to the tiny loops in the fabric of his pants.
Mestral wondered if he could build a similar two-sided deisgn, one end of which would have hooks and act like the burr, and the other a loop (much like his pant's material). He picked nylon for making hooks -- a material that had been invented just then, but he could not find a weaver willing to help him. His idea was met with resistance and even laughter. Mestral however refused to give up. He was obsessed with his invention, gave up his job and borrowed money from friends to pursue his dream. After two decades of laboring on his idea and at many times, close to giving up, he finally perfected his velcro hook and loop design.
NASA was the first to adopt the Velcro for space suits, and soon, Mestral was selling over sixty million yards of Velcro per year! Today it is a multi-million dollar industry. Not bad for an invention based on Mother Nature, isnt it! And a lesson in patience and perseverance for all of us.
hhahaha that`s cool and amazing invention
That's pretty neat! I can't belivie he made Velcro with the help of his dogs tail.
im so happy he inveneted this though! i mean i wouldnt have survived my childhood without velcro shoes
i want a microscope.
amazing
I remember seeing when Google had the zipper page, but made no real connection that Gideon Sundbach had made the zipper. Thanks much, Deepa Gopal!
This is so interesting how zippers and even Velcro was so helpful even to Armys it was helpful. People should be very thankful that Mestral worked on his zipper and velcro invention other wise we would be in a bad position.
Zippers are really amazing! I wonder what life would be like without them.
I think that was amazingly cool that he just got all of that from things that stuck on his dogs tail.
I think that that is really cool because I did not know that and I think that velcro is really cool and useful that is really cool. I do really like that.
Wow, I never knew that it was created then, I only use it for my jacket though.
Zippers are great
that's cool. nice article
nice article
i dont know how it will be without zippers because buttons can break off and they just make me mad
wow
Go zippers! I love that word. Zippers zipper zippers!
I went on google a week ago and saw a big line i thought someone hacked in and changed the settings ,but tuns out it was celebrated for the birthday of the creater of zippers
from the 1850s to the 20th century.WOW i thought all the old stuff was disposed and new things came in ,but turns out somethings can stay forever.
I don't use zippers anymore but that is pretty cool how he got the idea of velcro
zippers are great haha :)
umm cool
I don't use zippers much anymore.
that is so cool how Velcro was made
Velcro and zippers make life way easier! If we didn't have them I don't know what life would be like. Thank you Gideon Stunbach!! You're awesome!
Without zippers and velcro we would have to button all our jackets and that takes to long
haha wow
Wow! I couldn't imagine a day without using a zipper or velcro. Great article.
its cool that this guy inveted a shone liste and a zipper.
I didn't now that Zippers were very popular back then. Now they are not as popular as much as when they came out
Wow when I thought of technology I always thought of medical stuff and things with electricity. Velcro and Zippers never came to my mind.
I didn't know about this. I could never imagine life without a zipper or velcro. Nice article.
life without zippers that would just be horrible
Wow, they are very important
Very Popular.
Wow zippers are really important to use i didnt know that now i do
i had 284 points and it dropped me 20 points ugggg
Thats cool that he used nature to invent velcro.
this is so cool
wow
Wow, I can't imagine life without velcro or the zipper. It's crazy how much we use them in life. Without them, life could be alot different.
it would be really weird if zippers and velcros weren't invented yet i don't what we would do without it
cool
Yeah it's really cool how some people just observe that and sometime it just runs through your head
That is so cool! Zippers and Velcro would never come to my mind when in think of technology. Most people think of computers, iPods, etc... These inventions really make our life a TON easier! Imagine having a jacket without a zipper! That would just be strange! A lot of times people who invent things come from different countries. That is really cool and interesting! :)
Ironic that velcro is a lesson of patience, when people get velcro when they don't want to tie their shoes.
There such ingenious of designs!
awesome
THIS ARTICLE IS AWESOME
i use zippers and velcro every day